Comparison, checked September 24, 2026
Wix vs a custom-built website for a Canadian small business
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- By Redenn Editorial
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The short answer
Wix is the right choice for a hobby or early-stage site that the owner wants to edit every week with almost no budget. A custom-built website from Redenn is the better choice once the site has to win customers, connect to a CRM and be owned outright; published prices start at CA$99 for one page. The trade is simple: Wix gives you an editor and a subscription, Redenn gives you a site you own and a team that maintains it.
Side by side
| Wix | Custom-built (Redenn) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Monthly or yearly subscription; features gated by plan; varies | One-time packages from CA$99 (Launch) to CA$799 (Business Plus); hosting from CA$99/year |
| Scope | Templates, drag-and-drop pages and app-market add-ons within the platform's limits | Written scope per package: pages, forms, booking, blog, CRM, chat |
| Ownership (code, content, domain, accounts) | You own your content and a domain registered in your name; the site itself runs only on Wix and cannot be moved to another host | You own the code, content, domain (Cloudflare Registrar) and every account, and can take them anywhere |
| Support | Platform help centre and support channels; varies by plan | Email support on all hosting plans; priority support on Pro Managed CA$99/month; website changes as a service |
| Hosting | Included in the subscription; you cannot choose the host | Vercel CDN; Redenn Lite CA$99/year, Business CA$199/year, Dynamic CA$49/month |
| SEO capability | Built-in basics you configure yourself; adequate for many local sites | Search Setup CA$99 included from Business: metadata, sitemap, robots, structured data; Search + AI Foundation CA$299 |
| Development capability | Limited to what the editor and app market allow | Any feature can be built: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Node.js |
| CRM | Platform-native contact tools and integrations; varies | CRM integration from CA$99, CRM Setup from CA$299 with source tracking |
| Automation | Built-in automations within the platform; varies | Lead Follow-Up Automation from CA$149; custom workflows quoted |
| AI features | Platform-provided AI assistance where offered; varies | AI Website Chat from CA$99/month, AI Receptionist from CA$149/month |
| Maintenance burden | None for the platform itself; the owner does all edits and design upkeep | Dependency updates handled on Redenn Business hosting and above; you send change requests |
| Right choice when | Hobby projects, side businesses, weekly self-edits, near-zero budget, no CRM or custom features needed | A business that wants a fast, owned website with search, CRM and automation done once and maintained |
Our verdict
Wix is a sensible choice for a hobby site, a club or a side project you will edit yourself every week with no budget for help. For a business whose website has to produce customers, a Redenn build is the better investment: Starter at CA$299 with Lite hosting is CA$625.97 over three years plus the domain, and you own everything. The deciding factor is rarely the price in month one; it is whether you want to rent an editor or own an asset. Choose by what the site must do, not by which one looks easier to start.
Ownership and lock-in
On Wix you own what you put in: your text, your images and a domain registered in your name. You do not own the website as a thing you can move. The design, the pages and the features run only on the platform, and leaving means rebuilding somewhere else. That is a fair trade for a hobby site and a real cost for a business that has spent years on it.
A Redenn build reverses this. You receive the code repository, the content, the domain at Cloudflare Registrar in your name and the Vercel and analytics accounts. Redenn manages the domain only if you ask and never holds a client domain hostage. If you ever leave, the site leaves with you.
Total cost over three years
Wix pricing is a subscription with features gated by plan, and the right plan depends on what you need, so it is shown as varies. The Redenn column uses the Starter package, which covers home, services and contact with a spam-protected form, analytics and Search Console.
| Item | Wix | Custom-built (Redenn) |
|---|---|---|
| Build | your own hours | Starter CA$299 (three pages, contact form, analytics, Search Console) |
| Hosting, three years | subscription; varies | Redenn Lite CA$99/year x 3 = CA$297 |
| Domain | registrar price; varies | Registrar's live price plus CA$9.99/year management fee if Redenn manages it (CA$29.97 over three years) |
| Search foundation | self-configured | Add Search Setup CA$99, or choose Business CA$499 which includes it |
| Three-year total | varies | CA$625.97 plus the registrar's domain price |
When to choose Wix
Wix does a lot well, and pretending otherwise would not help you. Choose it when:
- The site is a hobby, a club or a side project with no budget for a developer.
- You genuinely enjoy editing pages yourself and will do it every week.
- You need something online today and can live with a template look.
- You have no plans for a CRM, automation or custom features.
Pros
- Fast to start with no technical skill
- Hosting, SSL and editor in one subscription
- Large template and app market
Cons
- The site cannot leave the platform
- Subscription continues for as long as the site exists
- Custom features and integrations are limited to the app market
When to choose a custom-built website (Redenn)
Choose a custom build when the website is part of how you get customers. Redenn's smallest package is Launch at CA$99 for one page in 3 to 5 business days after content is received; Business at CA$499 adds five pages and the search foundation. Every site is built in Next.js and served from Vercel's CDN, and Redenn has built this way for Canadian businesses such as GSS Driving School in Sunnyside, Manitoba and Stefano's Inc., a grocery freight and logistics company.
Pros
- One-time build price; hosting from CA$99/year
- You own everything and can move it
- CRM, automation and AI products connect to the same site
Cons
- Design changes go through a developer
- Content must be supplied or bought (copywriting from CA$99/page)
- Not the right fit for a site you want to redesign weekly
Decision checklist
Answer yes or no. Three or more yes answers point to a custom build.
- Does the website need to produce enquiries or bookings, not just exist?
- Would you be upset if you could not move the site to another provider?
- Do you want leads tracked in a CRM with automatic follow-up?
- Do you prefer a one-time price to an open-ended subscription?
- Would you rather send a change request than edit pages yourself?
Questions
Can I move my Wix site to Redenn?
Your text, images and domain can move. The site itself is rebuilt in Next.js, starting from CA$99 for one page, and Redenn maps old URLs to new ones so search engines follow the move.
Is Wix cheaper than a custom website?
In the first month, usually. Over three years it depends on the plan you need and your own hours, which is why this page shows varies. A Redenn Starter site with Lite hosting is CA$625.97 over three years plus the registrar's domain price.
Can I edit a Redenn site myself?
Business Plus and Growth System include a blog or CMS for your own posts and updates. Page design changes are sent as requests and handled by Redenn.
Does Wix work for SEO?
Wix provides the basics and many local sites do fine with it. A custom build gives full control over metadata, structured data, page speed and crawler policy, but no platform can guarantee rankings.
Who owns the domain if Redenn registers it?
You do. Domains are registered at Cloudflare Registrar in your name. Redenn manages it only if you ask, for CA$9.99/year on top of the registrar's live price.
Sources
- Canadian Presence Requirements for .ca domains, CIRA. Accessed 2026-09-24.
Related
Services
- Website DesignFast, mobile-first design from a tested component system, priced by page count rather than by the hour.
- Website DevelopmentNext.js, React and TypeScript builds deployed to Vercel, with the search foundation included from CA$499.
- Website HostingGlobal CDN, automatic SSL and monitoring from CA$99/year for static sites to CA$99/month for managed applications.
- Domain RegistrationRegistered in your name through Cloudflare Registrar at the live price, managed for CA$9.99/year.
- Website ChangesText and image updates from CA$29, new standard pages CA$49, premium pages from CA$99, approved on staging.
- CRM SetupPipeline, fields, users, lead sources and contact import configured in your CRM, from CA$299.
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